MACAO or MACAU(Portuguese spelling, and also more common)

Macau is located a short 21/2 bus ride away from Guangzhou, so a colleague of mine and I decided to head there for the weekend.Well we left after work (around 4pm) and due to traffic, didn't get to the border until quite late. The border was extremely busy, as many Chinese people were heading over to Macau for the weekend. We waited almost one hour in line, then from there, walked across the border from China to Macau. Finally, (four hours later!) we arrived. My first impression was "WOW." I had never been to Vegas, and was excited by the bright lights and glitzy hotels. These included the Sands, MGM Grand, Grand Lisboa and many others.We hailed a cab and went to the guesthouse we had booked online. We did have trouble getting there since the driver did not speak English. We noticed right away it was very rare for people to speak English, aside from the hotel workers. This was surprising since Macau and Hong Kong are both special economic regions of China, and in Hong Kong English was fairly common.Anyway the first guesthouse was very dingy, so we consulted our Lonely Planet guidebook and headed for a hotel called "Central." It was in a very good location, right next to Largo de Senado, the main square in Macau. The hotel turned out to be very old and scary looking. At this point it was after 9pm and we were both very hungry and tired. We consulted our guidebook once again and decided to head to Coloane Island, another area of Macau, off the Peninsula. We crossed a very skinny, scary bridge, which was lit up beautifully, and then were on Taipa Island. The cab driver stopped us at the Best Western, so we didn't even end up getting to Coloane. The Best Western was full...and also extremely expensive, but the very helpful staff member referred us to another hotel; Taipa Square, which was fabulous! The staff spoke English, and were very friendly and helpful. At this point we were both exhausted so we had dinner at the restaurant in the hotel. I had a good tasting Cajun chicken dish, and then called it a night. We had to get rest for sightseeing the next day.

Hac Sa Beach

Hac Sa Beach translates into "black sand beach." I was very interested in seeing this beach and did not know what to expect. The sand was quite dark. It almost looked muddy, and in turn the water looked dark as well. The beach was not very busy at all. Water sports were advertised, but other than a couple of sea-doos, there was nothing else. Perhaps this was due to the weather. It was a warm, but overcast day. The ride to the beach was fun; the taxi driver drove extremely quickly down a long winding road. After spending some time playing in the black sand, we headed to the "famous" Fernando's for lunch. It was a charming place, and I ordered the only chicken dish on the menu. The chicken was juicy and tasty, and the wine (Portuguese of course) was also quite good.The best part about it was the atmosphere; friendly, cosy and familiar. It seemed that the seafood dishes were popular as well.

After the beach, we stopped at the Venetian on the way back to Taipa Square. It is a new hotel, only one year old, and most likely modeled after the one in Vegas. I have never been to Vegas though, so I cannot be sure. This beautiful hotel is surrounded by water, where you can take a gondola ride with a Chinese man dressed in an Italian getup (see picture with Giuseppe..yes that was his name). The casino is huge and the decor is very extravagant. After taking some pictures and visiting the Venetian casino it was back to Taipa Square to shower and change.

The Peninsula

In the late afternoon we headed to Fisherman's wharf, which is sort of an amusement park, but more like a boardwalk with cafes and shops. Each section is supposed to be modeled after a different country, or city. These included: Rome, Greece, Africa, New Orleans and Trinidad. There was not much going on there, but the book compares it to Lan Kwai Fong in Hong Kong. I completely disagree. This was nowhere near Lan Kwai Fong, but then again maybe things got livelier later on at night. We visited the Sands, another extravagant hotel, andthen went to Largo De Senado, which was filled with people. We visited a few markets, though they didn't have much to offer besides baby clothes and imported clothing from Thailand (which I would rather get in Thailand). Dinner was at Henri's where I finally got to try African Chicken. This is one of the best dishes I have ever tasted! This dish consisted of huge pieces of chicken in sauce similar to curry, except made different by the spices and sauces used. (See below for recipe). It is a well-known dish in Macao and did not disappoint. Henri's was pricey but well worth it.

Lastly, we went casino-hopping. The most impressive was at the Grand Lisboa, an extension of a much older hotel, the Hotel Lisboa. The hotel was lit up in a gigantic display of lights, reaching high into the sky.; a lot of wasted electricity, but very glitzy, and glamorous. We then searched for some night life, but other than the live music and bizarre shows in the casino, there wasn't much to be found. There are apparently lots of Karaoke bars, but we couldn't find them and ended up at a sports bar where we listened to some live music by a cute Filipino band. (Who were not very good).

Day 3- Walking Tour

We began our walking tour at Largo de Senado and visited the ruins of St. Paul and some very beautiful churches. We also visited the Macau Museum and Mont Fort. Also on the itinerary was the Grand Prix Museum and Wine Museum. I would have loved to have some more African Chicken, but unfortunately didn't get to...we were so hungry from the walking tour that we ended up eating the first place we found.

We headed back to the border and there were massive crowds. We would have waited for hours, except Kathleen managed to get though in the Diplomat line. I had to beg for a bit, as they wouldn't let me through as easily....probably because I am not white! They finally agreed due to my pestering. Thank God, because otherwise I would have been in the line for hours! After a long. But relaxing bus ride we arrived back in Guangzhou. Work tomorrow! Sigh. Back to reality.

Galinha's Africana Henri's Galley (Spicy Marinated Chicken with Peanut and Paprika Sauce)This chicken tasted superb! Here are the ingredients:For the chicken:1 teaspoon minced dried hot red chilli pepper1 teaspoon minced garlic2 tablespoons minced shallot1 teaspoon sweet paprika2 teaspoons Chinese five spice powder (available at Asian markets and most supermarkets)2 teaspoons crumbled dried rosemaryA 3-10 3 ½-pind chicken, halvedFor the sauce:1 cup minced shallot½ cup minced garlic1 ¼ cups minced red bell pepper¼ cup corn oil½ cup sweet paprika1 cup grated fresh coconut¼ cup natural style peanut butter1 ½ cups chicken broth½ bay leaf3 teaspoons vegetable oil1 boiling potatoThere are no instructions on how to cook it, but you can cook it like a stew or curry.The pieces of chicken were cut fairly largely and so were the potatoes. It was not served with rice, since the pieces of potato were very big.Hope it works- Enjoy!I expect to taste some when I get back!!Here are cooking directions from another recipe I found. Note: the ingredients are different from the ones I listed.

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large skillet with a tight-fitting lid, heat oil over medium high heat. Add chicken, and brown quickly. Remove chicken from pan. Reduce heat to medium low, and add garlic, onion and potato to the pan; saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Season with cumin, coriander, black pepper, red pepper and salt. Do not let garlic brown.
2. Mix in water and browned chicken, and any accumulated juices. Place lid on skillet and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 to 15 minutes.
3. Remove lid, and stir in the peanut butter and garbanzo beans. Make sure the peanut butter is blended in. Replace lid to simmer for 10 more minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and potatoes are tender. Remove from heat, adjust seasoning, and serve.